Residents and Businesses Say NO to Oversized and Unplanned Development on Middletown Hillside
Over the last couple of months, residents and business owners in the Middletown community of San Diego have learned of a developer’s plan to build an oversized high rise that will overpower this already densely packed area.
The Middletown community is already dealing with parking issues due to an increase of residential units and a busy commercial area. According to those who currently live and work in Middletown, these are their concerns:
Destroys Historic Community Character. The 172-foot-high-rise destroys the character of the Middletown hillside above India Street International Restaurant Row. The densely populated hillside consists of older homes (bungalows, cabins, Cape Cod, mid-century styles) and several apartment / condo complexes that abide by the 40’ height zoning restrictions.
Irresponsible Development. San Diegans support responsible development to provide affordable housing. There are better development options that fit into this hillside neighborhood, than high-rise, high-density buildings that tower over the existing homes.
Does Not Address Affordable Housing. Only 6 of 161 units are designated as very low or low income.
Greed & Abuse of Power. The City of San Diego is prioritizing the interests of one developer over the hundreds of neighborhood residents. The Corporate developer advertises their objective as “delivering exceptional returns for investors.” The City of San Diego is bypassing all community comment to rubber-stamp the building permits.
Public Safety. The Columbia Street one-lane divided roadway is too narrow to support emergency vehicle access for the proposed high-rise building, according to national and international fire safety codes.
No Green Space or Sunlight. The high-rise encroaches into lot set-back zoning requirements, Neighboring properties lose sunlight to their organic garden spaces. The high-rise makes no contribution to the greenery landscape benefits.
Parking Issues. The 161-unit project makes the current parking issues worse for residents and India Street businesses.
Traffic Congestion. This project creates traffic flow problems on the narrow divided one-lane street, impacting traffic flow for all homes on the hillside and India Street businesses.
Creates Neighborhood Tensions. This project disrespects the neighborhood for the above reasons. It does not foster neighborhood peace but creates unhealthy tensions.
A community effort is being planned to address concerns with city staff and elected officials, who as of to date have not offered any assistance or dialogue on the high rise.
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